6.24.2008

STEP 1...done

Well that was fun...NOT.

Between waking up with "The Final Countdown" stuck in my head and the feeling of impending doom, I knew it was going to be a craptastic day from the get go. I woke up at 6:15 and couldn't get back to sleep for 20 minutes. So I said f*ck it, took a shower ate some breakfast and got on the road a bit early so that I didn't have to deal with traffic. I chilled in the parking lot of the test center for about an hour with a cup of coffee my first aid and the rest of the OCD folks there for their various tests. Of course the girls running the test center were a bit late, and it was raining, so we didn't get registered until after 9.

While I was sitting there in my car, the sky opened up and there was a torrential downpour with lightning striking a couple hundred yards away from the test center. It didn't stop all day, and at one point you could even here hail pinging off of the roof through the soundproof headphones. I figured it's probably a sign of things to come. It would be just my luck to die in a Prometric test center taking the USMLE...I wonder if my scores would still count????

I think the highlight of my day was seeing the little 3D metal chatski in the waiting room that said "Relax". I want to smack whoever put that there...asshole, it's not like this is going to have a bearing on the REST OF MY LIFE. Apparently there isn't an 8 hour exam for assholes who decorate waiting rooms at Prometric centers. It was an ironic contrast to the palpable despair that hanging over that room. I kind of wanted to take a picture of it to post...but after the deep cavity search, retinal scan, blood sample, buccal swab and finger printing it slipped my mind. Ok, so the security wasn't that bad, but it would have been nice if I could have put my sweatshirt on during the middle of the section or maybe a bottle of water to sip from.

Regardless, I finished it up in a little under 6 hours and I have no idea how it went except for the fact that I had 2 easy sections, 2 medium sections, 2 harder sections and I don't really remember the first section because I was still waiting for my second cup of coffee to hit my brain. I'm figuring that it will probably be around the national average.

I took it easy last night because I've had the sensation that I swallowed a mix of broken glass, rusty razor blades and lava. I figured drinking my face off would probably put me into a sorry state of affairs (right before surgery starts up...just what I need), so just had a beer with dinner.

I have an entire 6 days of freedom so I'm going to do what I can to enjoy it while the sun is out and my life is under my own control. I'm thinking a beach day, some shopping for my new apartment, reading a book that isn't step 1 related and sleep...lots and lots of sleep.

3 comments:

Albinoblackbear said...

Yup. I felt like someone was oscillating between bitch slapping my larynx and stomping on my right bronchus for about, oh, 8 days after my chem final. Nothing like celebrating with a TB-esque cough. Oh well, the social isolation just meant more Champagne for me. :)

Sleep=good. Enjoy!

The Lone Coyote said...

Congrats! Now with that big hurdle over you get to move on Surgery. Woohoo! But seriously, I think Step 1 is by far the worst, so pat yourself on the back for surviving. I loved your description of the testing center.

The Caffeine Lady said...

You finished! It's a feat unto itself-- congratulations! (And holy shit, eight hours? Oh, sweet jesus.)